For a long time, the common operation way of a conventional two-dimensional (2D) mouse device moved on a table is that the left push button of the mouse device is clicked twice quickly for performing the function of the icon after the cursor on the computer screen is positioned on the icon. Please refer to FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b), which are schematic diagrams showing conventional selection configurations 911 and 912 of an icon selection system 91. As shown in FIG. 1(a), the selection configuration 911 includes an image area 12, an image 13, a cursor 14 and a mouse device 17. The image 13 (not shown) is to be displayed in the image area 12 and includes plural icons 131, 132, 133, 134, 135 and 136. The mouse device 17 may be a 2D one, operated on a plane, or a three-dimensional (3D) one, operated in the air. Regarding the operation of selecting the icon 134, the motion purpose of the conventional mouse device 17 is to move the cursor 14 to the desired icon 134. Therefore, the motion of the mouse device 17 is to move the cursor 14 along X or/and Y directions.
As shown in FIG. 1(b), the cursor 14 in the selection configuration 912 is used for selecting the icon 131, and the motion trace of the cursor 14, generally speaking, can include plural connected line segments such as those A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7 and A8.
Recently, as the micro-electro-mechanical types of the accelerometer and the gyroscope are more popular, the so-called 3D mouse device, which senses the motion of the hand in the air thereby for controlling the computer screen pointer to select the icon and to perform the function of the icon, is developed gradually. However, comparing the 3D mouse device with the conventional 2D mouse device used on the table, there are main differences between their operations. The 2D mouse device moving on the table is always supported by the contacting surface of the table, thereby the cursor moved on the screen will not to deviate from the icon pointed when the push button of the 2D mouse is quickly clicked twice with a finger. In contrast, the handheld 3D mouse device operating in the air, does not have an additional support; then the cursor moving on the screen by the 3D mouse is easy to deviate from the location of the selected icon due to a careless on an unintended hand motion when the push button is quickly clicked with a finger for performing the function of the icon, which will make a fault operation. Unfortunately, the user of a commercial product such as Air Mouse of Logitech Inc. is facing the problem.
In order to overcome the above-mentioned problem, some companies arrange an active push button on their products to improve the motion operation of the cursor; e.g. the 3D mouse device/Air Mouse commercial products provided by Gyration Inc. The method is as follows; while the 3D mouse device moves in the air and the active push button is also in a press state, then the cursor on the screen can move with the mouse device; while the cursor is positioned in the icon and the active push button is released, the cursor no longer moves with the mouse device. At this moment, clicking the push button performs the function of the icon even if the mouse device can move. Because relations between the cursor on the screen and the motion of the mouse device are disconnected from each other, the cursor can be positioned in the icon to cause the function to be performed successfully. Although this operation mode can cause the function to be performed correctly, this operation behavior practically violates the ergonomic motion. This operation is not only intermittent without continuity but also uncomfortable.
Please refer to FIG. 1(c), the cursor H11 is controlled to move in the horizontal direction. In a state E111, the remote-control mouse device 11 has an orientation N111, and the orientation N111 with an alignment direction V111 is aligned with the cursor H11. In a state E112, the remote-control device 11 has an orientation N112, and the orientation N112 with an alignment direction V112 is aligned with the cursor H11. The posture or the orientation of the remote-control device 11 in the air points to a variable direction; and ideally, the variable direction is to be aligned with the cursor H11 moved on the screen, so that the user can intuitively consider being consistent with the direction, indicating where the cursor H11 is located, when operating the cursor movement by the gesture or the motion of his/her hand (not shown).
However, a first operation shown in FIG. 1(c) can perplex the operation of the remote-control 3D air mouse device. FIG. 1(d) shows how the perplexity is happing during operation. In a state E121, the remote-control device 11 has an orientation N121 with an alignment direction V121 pointed at the cursor H11. In a state E122, the remote-control device 11 has an orientation N122 with an alignment direction V122 pointed at a position P11 outside the display area 121. For instance, in the state E121, the cursor H11 touches a boundary of the perimeter 1211 of the display area 121. Afterward, if the remote-control device 11 further has a motion or a posture change, the orientation of the remote-control device 11 will only be changed from the orientation N121 into the orientation N122, and the pointing direction of the remote-control device 11 will be correspondingly changed from the alignment direction V121, originally pointing to the cursor H11, into the alignment direction V122, but the remote-control device 11 cannot cause the cursor H11 to further cross over the perimeter 1211, and thus a deviation or a misalignment between the device's orientation and its direction pointing at the cursor H11 is happened.
Under this condition, a second operation shown in FIG. 1(d) will result in the phenomenon shown in FIG. 1(e). In a state E131, the remote-control device 11 has an orientation N131, and the orientation N131 with the alignment direction V131 is aligned with a position P12 outside the display area 121. When the remote-control device 11 is moved back to control the cursor H11 to simultaneously move back away from the boundary, the remote-control device 11 has the orientation N131, which is aligned with the position P12, and the pointing direction of the remote-control device 11 cannot be caused to point to the alignment direction V132 for being aligned with the cursor H11 in the display area 121. In this way, the remote-control device 11 cannot be recovered to have the orientation or the posture, which the remote-control device 11 previously has under the normal operation in the state that the cursor H11 has not touched the perimeter 1211, thereby forming an orientation deviation. The orientation deviation causes that the remote-control device 11 cannot have the alignment direction V132 to be aligned with the cursor H11 in the orientation N131 for intuitively controlling the motion of the cursor H11. Therefore, the inconsistence between the alignment direction of the orientation of the remote-control device 11 and the actual direction pointing to the cursor causes the perplexity when the user operates.